Untrustworthy
by Homestuck Waterbender
Summary: Alright, I'm not good with summaries, so bear with me. Street urchin Auzi encounters a twist of fate when she meets pro-bender Bolin. When he offers her a chance to get her bending back, she can't say no. But when he tries to get close to her, Auzi can't help but find him untrustworthy. M for later chapters and language. Looking for Beta reader!


**Constructive criticism is not only welcome, but greatly appreciated. I'm also looking for a Beta reader. Anyways, enjoy!**

Patrolling around Republic City was probably one of my most least favorite jobs. Ever since I had my bending taken away, being part of the Triple Threat Triad has been even more difficult. Not that I've told anyone about my lack of abilities of course. Lightning Bolt Zolt would kick me out if he were notified about my 'handicap'. Then it'd be back to scrounging around the back alleys for stray bits of food again.

"Hey!" A voice called out of the shadows, "You're in Red Monsoon territory."

Three males stepped out of the shadows where the voice came from. Their arrogant smirks turned into nasty scowls when they recognized who I was.

"Oh hey there, Auzi." The middle water bender acknowledged, "What are you doing so far from Triple Threat territory?"

I bristled a bit, "In case were too incompetent to realize, this _is_ my turf."

"Not since your leaders got their bending taken away."

"The Avatar gave it back to them! So this is my area to patrol. And a major part of patrolling is to get rid of you Red Monsoon scum!"

I couldn't let them know that I'm basically a non-bender myself now. Not only would word reach back to the Triple Threat, but these benders hated non-benders more than members of the other opposing Triads. To be safe, I just have to make sure I'm able to keep them talking as long as possible.

"Well you're going to have a problem with that," he said, "Because we're not leaving."

"Come on, Dasani." I reasoned, "You don't really to get your asses kicked by one sixteen year old girl, do you?"

Dasani held back the bender on his left, as he tried to lunge towards me. Maybe egging them on wasn't as good of an idea as I thought it would be. I should just get out of there before it's too late. But trying to weasel out might give them a reason to suspect. I can't lead them on by seeming weak.

"How about I give you a deal?" I asked the benders, "You get out of here, and I won't have to hurt you. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me, wouldn't you agree?"

I saw the water benders tense. Dasani couldn't stop his friend on the right from shooting a jet of water at me. I was caught off guard, and blew through the window of the building behind me. Yep, egging them on was quite possibly the worst idea I have ever had.

"Nice one, Due." One of them said, "I doubt she'll recover too well from that!"

I scowled and, out of instinct, tried to bend through the door. My scowl deepened when nothing happened. I was about to kick open the door, when I saw some metal benders leave their airships and take the mobsters into custody. I sighed in relief and calmly left the building.

All I'm going to have to report are some Red Monsoons in our territory this time. Hopefully that'll take Lightning Bolt's attention from me, and transfer it over to the intruders. I sighed and plodded further along the roads of Republic City, just going wherever my feet took me.

Sooner than expected, I became hopelessly lost. I groaned and shouldered my way through the throngs of citizens, in fear of meeting another member of a different Triad then my own. I shuffled quickly past everyone, and ended up in front of Narook's Seaweed Noodlery. I peered inside, and saw people laughing happily and enjoying the food.

Food. All of that food. It made my mouth water, and my vision go fuzzy. I stood on my toes and drank in as much of the scent as I possibly could before I was shooed away from the premise.

I was so tempted to go inside, but I didn't have close to enough money to afford even a bite of the delectable cuisine inside.

I started to feel rage. Why were these people allowed to indulge themselves to their hearts content, while I starved out here on the streets? It was a good thing I didn't have my bending at this moment in time. I would've blown this establishment to smithereens.

"You okay there?" A voice asked from somewhere behind me.

I whipped around and came face-to-face (or more like face-to-chest) with a teenager around my age. Only much, much taller than me. I turned my gaze upwards towards his face, and saw the most astonishing green eyes I had ever seen.

"Uh..." I stuttered, "I-I'm okay. I don't need any help."

The teen laughed, "Well I just thought since you looked about ready to float into Narook's, you might just be a bit hungry."

"Well what's it to you?" I spat, "It's not like you even care."

A look of hurt flashed across his face for a moment, "I'm sorry for asking then." he said, "But don't you want to go in and eat a bit? You could join me for dinner."

I felt my cheeks flame up, and averted my eyes, "Oh, um... I don't have any money. I couldn't possibly-"

"Don't worry. I'll pay." He cut me off.

I was about to object, but his large eyes and goofy grin had sold me completely. I guess he had saw that I was going to comply, and he led me into the restaurant.

If I thought that the food smelled delectable from outside, it was nothing compared to the aroma indoors.

My companion continued leading me to a table. I sat down, and he plunked himself in the seat across from me.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Bolin. Maybe you've heard of me?"

I shook my head and smirked, "No. I don't think that I have."

Bolin blushed, "Oh. I-I didn't-t mean to sound cocky or anything," he stammered, "It's just that... Well I thought that maybe you've seen a pro-bending match, or heard one on the radio, or something."

My eyes lit up, "You're a pro-bender?" I asked, "Really? For what team? What do you bend?"

He smiled proudly, "I'm the earthbender for the Fire Ferrets. What do you bend?"

A dark shadow passed over my face, and I pulled my gaze away from him. Why did we have to talk about bending? The conversation would've still continued, and gone much smoother of this topic wasn't brought up.

"Here you go Bo, the usual."

Two bowls of seaweed noodles were set on our table, but I had lost my appetite. I felt Bolin's eyes boring a hole into the side of my head.

"I don't." I finally told him.

"Oh. Sorry I brought it up."

"It's okay."

We ate in silence for awhile. I used everything in my power not to start shoving food in my mouth. I might've been a bit upset and unwilling to eat, but I was still starving and it had been awhile since I had a decent meal. Even if I probably would never eat in a place like this again, it was good to have some class in front of the guy who was treating me to such a nice meal.

Bolin broke the silence by asking, "Were you on the Equalist's side? I know most of the non-benders were."

I let out a humorless laugh, "Why would I be on the side of the people who _took_ my bending away?"

"So you used to be a bender? What kind?"

"Does it even matter anymore?" I snapped, "I'm never going to be able to bend again. There's no point in dwelling."

Bolin was quiet for a moment, "Well, um... I never got your name."

"Auzi."

"Well Auzi, Avatar Korra found out a way to give people their bending back. You could go visit her."

I shook my head, "You just don't get it, do you? It's better that I don't have my bending. I won't be able to hurt anyone anymore."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When you're on the streets, you do what you have to do to survive. Even if that means hurting other people."

Bolin sighed and his green eyes met my brown ones, "I know the feeling."

Needless to say I was shocked. A babyish kid like him couldn't possibly know what it's like out there. Before I could speak, he continued.

"Before my brother and I were pro-benders, we were street urchins too. Mako tried to keep me safe and out of trouble as much as possible, but sometimes..." he trailed off and cleared his throat, "Korra's visiting her family in the Southern Water Tribe right now, but you could stay with me in my apartment until she gets back."

I stiffened. This boy, that I had just met, offered to share his home with me? I was sure that my cheeks had turned a rosy pink, and my palms began to sweat.

I looked down at my lap, trying to come up with an answer. The obvious choice was to go with him, but there was the ever present question; what if he was lying?

What if Bolin was a member of another Triad? Or worse, what if he was part of my own? If they found out that my bending had been taken away, who knows what they would do to me?

I raised my gaze to decline Bolin's offer, but when I looked into his eyes, I couldn't say no. They were filled with so much hope, and such a childish innocence. Needless to say, it was something that I haven't seen in awhile. I had to say-

"Yes."

And I was glad that I had, too. His grin spread from ear to ear, showing off his pearly whites. That smile lit up his entire face. It gave me a warm tingly feeling inside. It felt...weird.

"Great!" He said, "Do you have anything you might want to pick up? Or anyone you want to say goodbye to? Or something?"

I shook my head, "Nothing but the clothes on my back." I gave him a shy smile.

We finished the rest of our food in a comfortable quiet, and when we were done, he paid. I hated having to owe him, so I promised to give him back the money when I was able to afford it.

"Don't mention it, Auzi." Bolin laughed, "It's my pleasure to pay for the dinner of such a beautiful lady."

I was positive that I was as red as a tomato, but I returned a sarcastic remark, "Me? B-Beautiful?"

Okay, maybe not sarcastic. More like stupid.

"Yeah you."

"Yeah, I'm sure that the 'I haven't bathed in forever' look really makes all of the boys get overwhelmed ad faint whenever they're in my awe inspiring presence."

That's more like it.

We bantered a bit more with each other as we walked down the streets of Republic City to Bolin's apartment. I still had that tingly feeling inside of me. The only thing was that instead of feeling weird, it felt nice.


End file.
